Look, I say that, but I did enjoy it. It was classic Tarantino in many ways and that made me very happy, but it was also just a bit sluggish and disconnected. But after the great disappointment that was The Hateful Eight, I was at least more pleased with this subject matter. It also had what I loved about Inglorious Basterds, in that it focused on real historical events, and then just turning them on its head for a different/better outcome. And the gore, let’s not forget the gore! I could have used a little more, but the final scene in the movie made up for it for the most part.
Read moreAction
Comedy Movie Review: Stuber
After Friday’s epic fail of a movie, I was hopeful that Stuber was going to be a better ride – and it was! The film follows Vic, a cop looking to take down the drug trafficker who gunned down his partner, and Stu, a part time Uber driver just looking to not rock the boat in his everyday life. That all changes when Vic gets in his car!
Read moreMovie Review: Animal Kingdom
Before I start actively watching TNT’s Animal Kingdom from the beginning (currently on season 4), I decided to watch the Australian film of the same name that it is loosely based on. I should also note that the film centers on the real life Pettingill crime family of Melbourne, which is a little crazy if you think about it.
Truthfully, I have seen parts of the U.S. television show, and the movie is a bit boring. I also thought that Jackie Weaver’s role was pretty limited and was a little confused why she got an Oscar nomination for it, but I digress. The film is told in the perspective of Joshua “J” Cody as he moves in with his grandmother and uncles following his mother’s suicide death. His uncles, Pope, Craig, Deran, and family friend Baz all specialize in armed robbery. The police are onto the family and are actively looking for Pope.
In all the chaos, Baz gets killed off early, which leads to the rest of the family getting sloppy and falling apart. J is mostly to blame for all of their hardships, which also end up getting Craig killed in the process. After everything the family has gone through, grandma Smurf decides that “J needs to go” and puts a hit out on him. Aware of this, J heads back to talk with Smurf and ends up killing Pope as retaliation for smothering his girlfriend. This ends up cementing his place within the family (not that there are many members left).
Like I said, this was a little slow, but the Australian accents made up for that in a way. And the cast was absolutely amazing, but I look forward to all the action I know the U.S. series has to offer. They seem to follow each other well enough, but you have to make it exciting if you’re dragging a two-hour movie over the course of at least 46 hours of television. I’ll report back as I finish each installment!
Netflix Movie Review: Point Blank
As a major fan of the show Kingdom (watch it!), I obviously have to keep tabs on star, Frank Grillo (also of Captain America and The Purge fame), so when I heard that he’d be starring in the remake of the French film, Point Blank, I knew I had to watch.
Read moreMemorial Day Weekend Movie MishMash
Alliterations aside, it’s true. I think I watched the most random array of movies this weekend, and in my book, they were all winners. For wildly different reasons, of course.
Read moreAvengers: Endgame – NO SPOILERS
Avengers: Endgame was everything you would expect it to be, and as The Good Place would put it, “holy forking shirtballs” amazing! That concludes my review.
Read moreWeekend Movie Review
No theater movies this weekend (gearing up for all the time I’m about to spend there for Avengers: Endgame), so I vegetated in a recliner and streamed some movies instead!
Read moreBook Review: Fallen & Torment by Lauren Kate
Every year I try and at least read two books a month. I think that’s pretty good considering how many shows and movies I watch in my spare time! Either way, the last two novels I read in 2018 were Fallen and Torment both written by Lauren Kate. The first book in the Fallen Trilogy, it was definitely less than. I wasn’t expecting much since it was young adult, but I just feel like I’ve read much more compelling young adult novels as a not young adult anymore. The premise is a bit Twilight-y except you can replace the vampires and werewolves with Angels and Demons (fallen angels).
In the first novel, Fallen, the only thing described in great and visual detail was the setting of the Sword & Cross campus. Other than that, the characters were flimsy at best. By the very end of the 400-plus page novel I finally learned that the main character, Luce, is a human who has apparently lived hundreds of lives. She dies every time she turns seventeen, which is when she meets her angel-lover, Daniel. Every death is almost always bursting into flames, and it seems like he doesn’t actively seek her out, but needs to? Like I said, the last fifty pages is really when any of the action occurred. It was frustrating how out-of-touch Luce was with her surroundings and reality, and not being told any other important details.
Which makes sense why there would be a second novel. I am still just shy of finishing it, but this book, despite it being another 400-plus pages like its predecessor, still hasn’t really gotten me anywhere in the way of plot. The author does a great job of shifting around and talking about everything except what the angel Daniel’s ultimate purpose is. And I’m pretty confident I won’t find out until the last page. Hence the third novel I will undoubtedly read at the start of 2019, Passion. I almost have to! But perhaps that’s what Lauren Kate wanted, and well, goal achieved I guess!
Overall, a frustrating and not very well done start to a trilogy. I think I’ve read wattpad stories better than these! Oh well, onto the next book.